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Part of the Problem OR Part of the Solution?
This
is a new feature of the Feeding Kids Newsletter. One of my goals is
to create a new nutrition culture for kids, one which promotes
healthful eating and active lifestyles. Beginning with this issue, I
will highlight examples of programs that both negatively and positively
influence the health environment of children.
P.O.P.
(Part of the Problem):
Have you seen the new campaign from Taco Bell, the one that promotes
an extra meal each day? Yes, Taco Bell is encouraging a "fourth
meal," the "meal between dinner and breakfast."
Now that's exactly what Americans need -- to be encouraged to eat in
the middle of the night! The campaign website features pajama-clad characters
and is designed to appeal particularly to teens and young adults.
While
Taco Bell does have some healthful choices and the option of menu items
lower in fat/calories (e.g. the "fresco" option, which substitutes
salsa for cheese or sauce), their campaign to promote night eating negates
their efforts to "keep it balanced" (another of their
promotional campaigns, though this one is not nearly as well publicized!).
P.O.S.
(Part of the Solution):
While a case could be made to put Nickelodeon in the above category,
it is notable that they are sponsors of the Let's
Just Play campaign. As too much "screen time" becomes
an increasing problem for youngsters, at least one network is also reminding
kids of the importance of physical fitness and health. Nickelodeon
was also the sponsor of the third annual "Worldwide Day of Play"
on September 30. For three hours, the network suspended programming
and encouraged kids and families to get up, get outside, and play together.
Perhaps
a next step for Nickelodeon will be to curtail advertising of candy,
sweetened drinks and other low nutrition foods on the channel. Stay
tuned...
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Cast a
Healthy Halloween Spell!
Halloween
can be a challenging time to get good nutrition into small bodies.
Below are some of the "tricks" that I have used to encourage
healthy habits and cut down on the candy "goblin."
-Encourage
regular meals, including supper before children go trick-or-treating.
Your kids may be more interested in eating if you cook a hearty
soup or stew in your cauldron and call it "witches brew."
Eating candy instead of meals tends to make for upset tummies and
grouchy dispositions.
-At
Halloween parties, include healthy snack choices such as popcorn,
roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin cookies (recipe below), whole grain
crackers and hummus, fruit juice punch, fruit and vegetable chunks
and cocoa made with lowfat milk. The healthy choices will help balance
out the candy.
-When
passing out to trick-or-treaters, it's OK to give non-candy "treats."
Kids enjoy getting pencils, stickers, small toys, or amusement park
tokens. Sugarless gum, prepackaged fruits and vegetables, and individual
bags of pretzels make for a better balanced treat bag. Rest assured,
the children will still get plenty of sweet treats!
-
Set a policy for eating trick-or-treat candy. It's better to eat
it moderately over several days as a substitute for dessert or a
few pieces along with a healthy snack. Eating candy nonstop throughout
the day will dull appetites for more healthful food choices.
-
Try out one of the accompanying Halloween recipes with your little
goblins or get grossed out with the Devilish
Halloween Delights from the Canned Food Alliance site. (eyeball
on a stick, anyone?)
JACK-O'-LANTERN
Cutouts
Using either light and dark breads (light rye and pumpernickel work
well) or white and orange cheeses, create contrasting designs with
cookie cutters. Carefully cut identical sections out of both slices
of cheese or bread. Insert the dark cutout into the light piece
and the light cutout into the dark piece (see diagram).
PUMPKIN
SEEDS
Save the seeds when you clean out your pumpkin. Rinse the seeds
well. Mix 3 T. of canola oil, 1/4 tsp. garlic salt and a dash of
Worcestershire sauce. Mix together with the seeds. Spread out on
a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until the seeds are brown and
crispy.
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RECIPE:
Pumpkin Softies
These
cookies are more like muffins in texture.
Low in fat and packed with nutrition, you can feel good about serving
these whole-grain cookies to your child.
Ingredients:
1
1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup soft margarine (trans-fat free)
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Nonstick cooking spray
Optional garnishes: raisins, dried cranberries, slivered almonds, chopped
walnuts, chocolate chips
Preparation:
Heat
oven to 350°F. Cream sugar and margarine. Add pumpkin and eggs;
beat well. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda,
cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; add to pumpkin mixture, mixing until dry
ingredients are moistened. Lightly spray baking sheets with nonstick
cooking spray. Drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls onto prepared
pans. If desired, smooth tops of dough with back of spoon and decorate
with dried fruits or nuts to make flowers, faces or other fun patterns.
Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown.
Servings:
About 3 1/2 dozen
Preparation
Time: 25 minutes
Cook
Time: 15 to 18 minutes
Nutritional
Information Per Serving (1 cookie): 81 calories; 3 g fat; 10
mg cholesterol; 82 mg sodium; 13 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 1 g protein.
Source:
Adapted from a recipe courtesy of the Canned Food Alliance
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Connie's
new children's book is GOOD FOR YOU!
Learning about
nutrition is cool with this engaging reference tool! Created to empower
children ages 6-10 with the information needed to help make the right
nutritional choices, Good for You! (©2006, Disney
Press) combines
basic health facts and a playful format of games, recipes, quizzes,
and trivia designed to assess a child's knowledge of proper nutrition
and guide them to a lifetime of good health. Read the press release
here.
You can order the
book now through Amazon.
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News
in Brief
Resources from
the Washington State Dairy council
The Washington State Dairy Council has a wealth of free and low-cost
resources available to educators, health professionals and families.
A clever two-sided booklet "Think Inside the Bag, Think outside
the box" is a fun way for kids and families to gain ideas
for better nutrition and increased fun movement. Naturally Nutritious:
Everyday Family Meals is a great little cookbook that will inspire
some new adventurous meals. Most materials have been updated to reflect
the 2005 MyPyramid and many are available in Spanish. There are also
a large number of free materials that you can download from the website.
Check it out at http://www.eatsmart.org.
Eat Smart.
Play Hard.™
Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ is a national nutrition
education and promotion campaign designed to convey science-based, behavior-focused
and motivational messages about healthy eating and physical activity.
The campaign uses Power Panther™ as the primary communication vehicle
for delivering nutrition and physical activity messages to children
and their caregivers. Support materials include posters, a slogan, Power
Panther™ costumes, and other materials. Messages developed for the campaign
are based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide
Pyramid. Visit the site at http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/Original/default.htm.
Recommended
Site: Kaboose.com
Kaboose.com — where families get going! is a comprehensive
parenting site based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You will find a wealth
of information from experts, great ideas, and helpful, on-target message
boards. The week of November 6 is Parenting Workshop Week. I am the
guest expert on November 9th (from 12 - 1 PM Eastern Time) so if you
have a question on child nutrition, sign on to Kaboose and post your
question on the message board during that hour. http://www.kaboose.com
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The
information contained in this newsletter is not intended as a substitute
for medical and/or nutrition advice. See your physician and/or registered
dietitian for individual health and/or dietary concerns.
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©2006,
by Connie Evers, All Rights Reserved. There is a modest reprint fee
for reproducing the material in this newsletter in either print or electronic
publications. Please send an email to reprint@nutritionforkids.com
for details and rates.
The
FEEDING KIDS NEWSLETTER is published bimonthly by 24
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